Lafayette Utilities System (LUS), which provides electric, water, wastewater and telecommunications services to approximately 62,000 electric customers and 52,000 water customers in Lafayette, La., will implement the Aclara Meter Data Management (MDM) system, while Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (BREMC), Lenoir, N.C., will deploy Aclara consumer engagement as well as MDM, Aclara announced recently.
LUS chose Aclara to achieve maximum benefit from its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and other smart grid investments. AMI is seen as the foundational element of the LUS Smart Grid Project, which deploys smart grid technologies to various portions of its electric system to improve reliability, facilitate customer management of energy usage and costs, assist in asset optimization and reduce environmental impact.
BREMC is a long-time Aclara customer that has deployed its TWACS power-line communications technology to effectively and efficiently read its 75,000 widely distributed electric meters in six counties over power lines. Aclara?s MDM and customer engagement solutions will provide even more precise management of data for billing as well as present information to customers that will help them reduce their energy consumption through increased awareness and improved analytics.
?Aclara?s software solutions perfectly match the data management, utility analytics and presentation requirements of mid-sized utilities like Lafayette and Blue Ridge Electric,? said Brad Kitterman, president of Aclara. ?These utilities are looking for cost-effective yet robust software to manage the wealth of meter data they collect each day. Aclara is committed to providing a feature-rich environment that can be implemented and maintained by smaller, efficient organizations.?
Aclara?s MDM provides utilities with proven, scalable meter-data storage, management and analytics, including validation, estimation and editing to improve the quality of data. It also offers both simple and complex pre-billing services and methods to integrate billing applications. Its consumer engagement solution presents detailed information on resource usage to customers, making it easier for them to understand their bills and helping them make informed decisions on consumption.
